What they've done
by LoneCard
Summary: TenTen's life and future is ruined...unless someone is willing to suffer in her place. NejiTenTen, brief mentions of other pairings,Teen pregnancy,AU, High school, rating may go up due to later chapters. NOT based on 'Juno'. DISCONTINUED
1. The discovery

TenTen stared at the small device. She had complete disbelief written all over her face. It couldn't be blue. It just couldn't be.

Her and Neji…It was only one night, one time! It…it couldn't be. It just couldn't.

Yet it was. The small pregnancy test in her hands was blue. TenTen stared at it, willing it to change. She knew it wouldn't.

Suddenly, her vision blurred. She threw out the test and wiped away her tears. She didn't want this right now. She didn't want to deal with it. Just when everything was going so well for her. She was a senior in high school; she was only six months away from graduation! This couldn't be happening now!

And she was supposed to strong. Normally, she was one of the guys. In reality, she only had one girl to talk to for girl stuff. Yet, she didn't Hinata would be interested in how Neji got her pregnant.

She walked through her house, dazed and scared. Her parents had died last year, and with no other living relatives, she'd been forced to become emancipated.[1) So there was no one to yell at her for ruining her future, or to comfort her and say someone would help her out with the baby.

Because she knew she couldn't have an abortion or give it up for adoption. She'd never be able to live with her self if she got rid of the baby. Though how she would live with herself for wrecking her future was beyond her. She continued to walk around her house, eventually wandering to the kitchen. She began making a sandwich for herself. It was so surreal…her life had been turned upside down, and here she was, doing something as normal as making a sandwich. As she sat down to eat, she reflected on what had stared this…and more importantly, who.

She and Neji loved each. She knew that. They'd been together since sophomore year, and they'd grown closer everyday. The idea of marriage was a very real possibility for their future.

TenTen burst into tears. She needed someone to talk to about this.

She picked up the phone and dialed Neji's number. He picked up on the second ring.

"Neji…" She sniffled through her tears, which were steadily growing into sobs. "Neji, I…I don't know what to do. Please come over. I need to talk to you…yes, I'm okay…I just need to talk to you…Okay I'll try to calm down…I know."

TenTen hung up the phone. All she could do now is wait for him.

Wait for the boy who ruined her life.

* * *

Neji, Shikamaru, Naruto and Lee were all at Shikamaru's house. It was a winter Saturday in the small town of Konoha, and the four friends were hanging out. Naruto and Lee were playing video games, while Neji and Shikamaru were playing chess. 

"Check," Neji said as he advanced his queen.

"Dudes, how can you play that?" Naruto yelled over the sound of cars smashing on the screen. "You can't be having fun with that!"

"Yes, Join us, friends!" Lee shouted as he drifted around a corner. "This is much more youthful than cheese!"

"_Chess._" Neji corrected as he took one of Shikamaru's rooks. "Though cheese is actually-."

"Yeah, not listening!" Naruto said as he took down Lee's car. Neji rolled his eyes. Naruto was fun and all, but…aw, forget it. There was no use reasoning with him.

Neji was just about to take Shikamaru' pawn when his phone rang. Fall out Boy's 'Which came first: Music or the Misery' played for a few seconds before Neji picked up.

"Hello?" Neji answered as he grabbed his Bishop with the intention of checkmating Shikamaru.

_"Neji…"_

Neji's hand froze in mid-air. "TenTen?"

"_Neji, I…I don't know what to do."_

"What's wrong?" Neji sat up straight and dropped the bishop. There were very few times when TenTen cried, so he knew something was up. So did the others. Naruto had paused the game and everyone was looking at Neji, waiting for an explanation.

"_Please come over. I need to talk to you."_

"Why? Are you okay?" That caused everyone in the room to stiffen. What was wrong with TenTen? She was like the awesome sister none of them had. She was closer than family, so in anything was wrong with her….

"_Yes, I'm okay…"_

_"_Then what's wrong?"

"_I just need to talk to you."_

"You're scaring me. Just…relax."

_"Okay…I'll try to calm down."_

"I'll be there soon. I love you."

"_I know._"

Neji snapped his phone shut.

Immediately, everyone started bombarding him with questions.

"Is she alright?"

"Is she sick?!"

"What's wrong?!"

"WELL!?!" The three shouted this at the same time. After all, TenTen was one of the group. The very fact that she wasn't there hanging out with them had sent them off balance.

"I don't know. But, I'm going to find out." Neji grabbed his jacket.

"We're comin' with you." Naruto said, looking for his coat.

"No. TenTen's really upset right now…I think I shoud talk to her. Alone."

"What a drag," Shikamaru sighed. "Then just tell her we say 'hi'." He glared at Naruto and Lee, who looked like they were about to argue.

"I'll be fine." Neji said. But inwardly he was worried. What could've sent TenTen to such a state?

* * *

TenTen was still at her kitchen table, crying. Her future was ruined; she knew it. She'd finish high school, yes, but what about college? How would she go to college _and_ raise a baby? She couldn't, that's how. Not to mention all the bills she had to pay. Yes, her family was wealthy, but what would she do once that ran out? God, she couldn't take this anymore. What was she going to do? 

The doorbell rang. Neji was here. She ran towards the door and flung it open.

"TenTen?" Neji asked. "What's-?"

TenTen threw herself into Neji's arms and let herself bawl into his chest.

"Neji! It's- I- You-!" She could barely get out words through her sobs. Neji led her back inside her house and back to the kitchen table.

Now he was truly scared. TenTen had only cried this hard once before, when her parents died. It hurt him to see her like this. He felt so helpless. The girl he loved was obviously in a lot of pain and all he could do was sit there and watch her be torn apart by something he didn't even know about.

"TenTen?" He asked again, wrapping his arms around her. "Calm down…Tell me what's wrong."

"Neji…" She choked out. She really couldn't speak through her sobs. She had to tell him, now. "Neji, I'm pregnant!"

[1) Emancipation, for those who don't know, is when a child, usually a teenager, is given the legal title of adult.


	2. The News

"_Neji, I'm pregnant!"_

_"_What?" Neji blinked and his world went out of focus. No, she didn't…He had to have heard wrong. Right?

After all, they had only done it once. They'd used protection and everything. They were good kids. They never got into trouble; this couldn't be happening to them!

TenTen continued to cry. Though her tears had somewhat subsided, she was still sobbing.

Neji looked at his girlfriend. Hey eyes were red and bloodshot, and becoming more so with every tear. She was shaking, too. Trembling as though she had double pneumonia, or whatever friggin' disease made you that shake.

Crap. Her misery proved it. She _was _pregnant.

"Neji…" She whispered. "Neji, what am I gonna do?!"

"I don't know."

TenTen sobbed harder at that. Her own boyfriend didn't even know what to do! Neji Hyuga, genius of Konoha High, child prodigy since the age of two, didn't know what to do! She couldn't deal.

"TenTen," Neji started. "I'm sorry. This is my fault."

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"Oh...It's okay."

They both sat there, and as surreal as the moment felt, the notion of reality slowly came back to them.

What was school going to be like?

* * *

"HEY, TENTEN!" Naruto yelled the next morning. TenTen was walking on her way to school. She'd decided to tell her friends, and no one else. After all, she didn't want her last few months of school to completely and utterly suck.

"Hey, Naruto," TenTen greeted.

"So…" An awkward silence followed. Usually, Naruto would give TenTen a noogie or something and they'd play fight for a bit. But as they knew, pregnant women couldn't do that.

Other than the lack of noogie, the morning walk occurred as always. TenTen and Naruto met up at her house, then walked to school, picking up Lee, Neji and Hinata at their mansion, and Shikamaru at the end. That left the entire group walking for three blocks together before school.

The entire group stopped right in front of the school. This Monday would be the worst yet for TenTen, they all knew.

"I'll be fine, guys." TenTen smiled, tough as any of the boys there. "I'll be fine."

"TenTen." Neji put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Neji. I can take care of myself." The group walked into hall and split up; Neji and Naruto to Science, Shikamaru to Math, Lee to English class, Hinata to Spanish, and TenTen went to gym.

Clutched tightly to her hand was a doctor's note excusing her from all gym participation for the rest of the school year.

* * *

"You can't do anything?" Iruka, TenTen's gym teacher, asked. "At all?"

"No," She said, shaking her head. "Nothin'. Doc's orders. So, how do I make up the credit?"

TenTen had given her teacher a note, explaining that TenTen could do no strenuous activity due to her condition. It didn't state her condition, or why she was still healthy enough to come to school. She didn't want _anyone_ outside of her group of friends to know.

"Well…I guess…you could write essays on heath for now, until we figure something out."

"Okay." TenTen then walked away and sat on the side, watching the other girls in the weight training room. None of her acquaintances were there, so she spent first period thinking about what essay she should write for gym.

_I guess I could right about...the skeletal system. That's easy enough. Yeah, I guess I could do that. Now, should I start with-_

"Hello, TenTen!" Ino walked up to TenTen. _Great_, she though. Ino was the only person TenTen really hated. She was her total opposite; a girly-girl gossip who ruined lives faster than natural disasters. Most peopl couldn't stand her.

"Ino." She nodded, not turning to look her in the eye.

"What's wrong?" Ino said in her gossip gathering voice. Everyone knew it. She used it whenever she felt a juicy story in the air.

"Nothing."

"You sure? No horrible news, no awful tragedy?"

"Nope."

Ino frowned. "Alright." She turned around and walked way. _Nothing, yeah right! I'll know what's what soon enough. No one ever denies me a story. Never._

TenTen gulped. She knew Ino well enough to know that this wasn't going to end here.

Oh, boy.

* * *

On the other side of the day and school, Neji and Lee sat in Spanish class. Lee was in the middle of a passage in Spanish, but Neji, sitting in the back, gazed out the window, thinking.

The last period of the day, 12 minutes from freedom, and he was miserable. Not that he wasn't always unhappy at one point or another. It's just that now, he felt miserable , and for the first time in his life, it was _actually his fault._

Great. The one time destiny gives him something so freakin' good that it makes up for the rest of his goddamn life, and he manages to find the one way he could mess it up!

He had to calm down. Beating himself up about the Problem was not going to help. Just calm down and think and-

"Neji," The teacher, Kuranai, said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Could you read the first paragraph on page 16?"

"_Aunque siempre he creído en los ángeles, por lo general me había sentido más inclinada a invocar a mis guías espirituales en busca de ayuda o de consejo, hasta que hace veinte años commence a observar, con mas detenimiento, las historias y las investigaciones al respecto."_

"Right," Kuranai said. "Now can anyone tell me what that means?" A student raised their hand. "Yes, Kiba?"

"It means that Sylvia…"

Neji tuned out again. He already knew what it meant, and he didn't think angels would help at that point. (1) Right. Like angels were real. That would mean God was real. And like hell God would let this much crap happen to anyone.

Like hell any God would allow someone as precious to him as TenTen get hurt this much.

Like hell any God would.

* * *

**(1) The Spanish passage was from a book about spirituality by Sylvia Browne. Which I also don't own.**


	3. The other one

TenTen and Hinata were walking home Friday after school. The boys always hung out on Fridays at a pizzeria across the street from Konoha high, leaving TenTen and Hinata to spend some girl time together.

The two girls were hardly friends at the beginning of it all, when they all met in Middle school. However, as time went on, they grew to be best friends. Though�they _were _a bit unorthodox. 

As in, they never bothered with the whole boys, make-up, gossip, fashion magazines, and other dull girl crap you saw on TV. They talked about what they wanted to, hung out where they felt like, and enjoyed life. That was the whole point of having best friends, after all.

And yet, now… It was not so easy.

"S-so," Hinata started, trying to initiate a non-awkward conversation. "What are you gonna do this weekend?"

"Don't know," She replied quietly, adjusting her blue book-bag strap. "I guess I'll stay home; surf the web and read or something."

Hinata blinked. Ususally, TenTen was the life of the party, stayin' out dancing with Neji 'till the sun went up and the cows came home.

Then again, pregnant girls can't do that.

"Oh."

They walked along in silence, the exact silence that Hinata had intended to avoid. The two headed to Hinata's mansion, which is also where Neji lived.

The Hyuga family was head of a very large multi-million�business corporation called Itex. They were wealthy (AKA: rolling in so much cash, they used hundreds for bed sheets), successful, and, above all, powerful. They controlled nearly everything and everyone nationwide. They were the ones who funded schools and hospitals and made sure everything couldn't function without them.

Not that any of that meant anything to the average pregnant teenage girl.

They were just planning to hang out, like all friends do.

Though the place was very well kept.

And the garden had a great landscaper.

And the front porch was from a fairy tale movie set.

"And stay out!"

TenTen and Hinata stopped mid-step.

"You ungrateful brat!"

The two girls stared at the front lawn of the Hyuga mansion. 

Neji stood on the sidewalk in front of the mansion, back straight and face rigid. His eyes stared directly ahead, showing no emotion to the scene that was unfolding as his uncle, Hinata's father, threw an inadequately packed suitcase at him.

"You worthless son of a bitch! We take you in after my brother dies, and you go and get some girl knocked-!"

He froze when he noticed TenTen and Hinata staring at him.

Neji turned to whatever had caused his uncle to stop mid-rant.

His face flushed when he saw TenTen.

"Is that her?" His uncle yelled, pointing at her. "That plain, dreary, simple, homely lowlife! That's what you risked my reputation for? Some bitch from middle class?"

Neji's posture faltered for a split second before returning to its original position.

"Don't _ever_ talk about her like that." Neji snarled fiercely, still not averting his gaze.

"You disgust me! Hinata!" He turned to the young heiress, who meeped and jumped at suddenly being addressed. "Get in here, now!" 

Hinata ran into the mansion, and her father slammed the door behind her.

"You!" He snapped at Neji one last time. "I never want to see your disgusting face again! And take that slut with you!" He turned around, opening and slamming the door again, making sure to lock it as loudly as possible.

Leaving a very uncomfortable silence between Neji and TenTen.

The very one Hinata had tried to avoid.

The one that felt like hell itself was in pain.

* * *

\/p>

"Why can't I get anchovies?" Naruto whined.

"It's too troublesome to explain, you just can't get them," Shikamaru replied.

The boys; Shikamaru, Naruto, and Lee; were in the local and originally named pizzeria, 'Arthur's Pizza'. They were short one soldier, but they all agreed that, for the sake of the fallen soldier, this battle could, and had to,�be fought with what they had.

AKA, they could eat the whole damn pizza pie without Neji.

"Mmm-mmm-_mmm!_" Naruto said, stretching out the cheese as far as he could. "This is almost as good as ramen!"

"I love this pizza!" Lee said, sipping his cherry coke. "It symbolizes our youth as teenage friends and stuff!"

"What a drag…" Shikamaru ate his own pizza in silence, looking out the window. "Where's Neji?"

"I don fow," Naruto said around a mouth full of cheesy goodness. "Iz ee wif DenDen?"

"Maybe," Shikamaru doubted, used to Naruto's stuffed mouth speech. "You think they'll be alright?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"Iff's mot wike de've meen drew woore, (It's not like they've been through worse)" Naruto said. "Dey, wike, luv eak obber, mude. Dey'll pool tru. (They, like, love each other dude. They'll pull through.)

Lee merely continued to eat his soda and sip his pizza, biting a little harder than needed. Naruto had already finished, and was now slurping down his soda like a dying man.

"Hmmm…" Shikamaru continued to stare out the window, thinking…

_Would_ they pull through? Yeah, they loved each other. So? Was that enough to get over the fact that TenTen's future was ruined? That her life was ruined?

Lee also turned to the window and thought about the situation. However, he had a bitter look in his eyes, and his thoughts were very anti-Neji.

_Would _she blame Neji, though? He _was_ the one who did this, after all. She did have a good future before her, until Neji knocked her up and messed up her life for the rest of it. Everything she had worked for was now for nothing because of him. Stupid Neji.

Shikamaru looked at Lee, who was glaring out the window¡nd sighed. This was all too troublesome to take. He was good at things like math and science. Things that were eternally set, unchangeable, constant and stable.

Life, however, made sure _everyone_ suffered.

For, to those who have not yet caught on, Lee loves TenTen, too.

Ah, the joys of having a crappy life. Not.


	4. The Aftermath

TenTen was home alone, having locked herself in. After seeing Neji kicked out of his own home, TenTen ran away at one look from Neji. She didn't want to stick around to see in Neji resented her for making him homeless.

TenTen wasn't crying, though. As you know, TenTen rarely cries, and, sadly, seeing her boyfriend being kicked out of her house because of her Problem wasn't enough to get her to cry.

That's how she referred to her pregnancy, by the way. She called it the Problem, with a capital P. She didn't want to think about the consequences just yet, when she still has six months of school left.

January 4th…The day she got Neji kicked out of his house.

No! She couldn't think like that. What was done was done.

She picked up her remote, planning to watch mindless dribble to block her brain. She picked a channel at random and was rewarded with an infomercial for a car lot.

_Come to Big Top cars! Monster cars at mini prices! These top-of-the-line cars are sure to give the best performance…_

No, TenTen was sure Neji gave the best performance. She blushed as she remembered that night. She shook her head and tried again to focus on the cars.

_Big Top car lot has every brand at every price! We carry everything from SUVs to Minivans to__ Hot Rods! Any car you need, we've got! And we've got any car for any family!_

Family? Would Neji want to start a family? Would they two of them live together and raise their little child? Or would TenTen have to go it alone while Neji lived a single, successful life? After all, Neji was an honor student, the (until recently) pride and joy of his clan. He was all but guaranteed to get into what ever college he applied to, and TenTen was sure he would take that opportunity to get as far in life as he could. Would he even have time for a family?

_That's right, whether you've got one more person or a whole boatload of family, we've got cars to fit all your needs, at any budget!_

Budget…another thing to worry about. True, her family had left her a good fortune of almost 25 thousand dollars, and growing with the interest and money from her part-time job. However, she had bills to pay, taxes to file and she had collage to worry about. Would she have enough to go to collage and raise a baby? Would she even be able to juggle both?

_So don't worry, when you have car needs, Big Top Car Lot will fill your car wants!_

Stupid commercial, what did it know? TenTen clicked off the TV. However, just as she was about to open up a book, she heard a knock on the door.

Sighing, she stood up. It was probably Hinata checking to see if she was okay, or maybe even Neji. Another knock came again, a little more frantic this time.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," She mumbled as she headed towards the door.

Yet, when she opened the door, it was someone she was not expecting to see.

"Oh, hey. What're you doing here?" She asked.

"I am taking care of something important," He said. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." She stepped aside to let him in. "What's up?"

"There is something I have to tell you…"

* * *

Neji was still outside the mansion. TenTen had just run away from him after the embarrassing scene he'd lived through. 

He wanted to run after her, but he didn't feel like it was the right time to talk. 

He sighed and picked up his poorly packed suitcase. It felt light. It probably only had a few days worth of clothes. He'd have to ask Hinata at school to get his things for him later on. Crap.

He started walking, with no real intention of going anywhere in particular. Which was a sign of just how fucked up his life was. He usually knew what he was going to do before he did it, and planned for any possible option. Now he was walking around like some useless hobo. Great, ain't it?

He continued to stroll around; keeping his head down so no one could see it was him. There he was, genius of the Hyuga clan, child prodigy since who knows when, and now he was homeless. Fan-fuckin'-tastic.

So now what? He sighed, having no idea what to do from there. He probably had to stay with one of his friends for a while.

This was his own fault, when he came to think about it. He shouldn't have done it with TenTen! Yeah, she said she wanted to, but she was probably just in the moment. She probably regretted it, too. He probably wasn't even that good to her either. He felt like such an idiot! 

Crap.

Neji continued walking aimlessly. Where could he go, really? He knew he couldn't talk to TenTen. Like she wanted to talk to him anyway. She ran away from him for a reason, didn't she?

He sighed again, switching the suitcase to his left hand. Great, he's starting to sound like Shikamaru.

Speaking of which…maybe Shikamaru could help. His intelligence _did_ rival Neji's, most likely surpassed it, too. The only reason he didn't skip grades was because it would've been, in his words, troublesome.

Neji smirked slightly, though he still didn't pick his head.

Though he did risk a quick glance around; which showed him that he was already on Shikamaru's block. He slowed down and thought about what he would say once he got there. How does someone start a conversation like that?

Before he realized it, he was knocking on Shikamaru's door.

"Who is it?" Shikamaru's father answered the door without waiting for a reply. "Oh, hello, Neji."

"Hello. Is Shikamaru home?" Neji tried to hide his suitcase behind his back.

Like the entire neighborhood hadn't heard his fiasco loud and clear.

"Yeah, gimmie a sec." He turned his head to call his son. "Shikamaru, Neji's here!"

"Hey," Shikamaru said once Neji had been allowed inside. "'Sup?"

Neji and Shikamaru walked up to Shikamaru's room, Neji carrying his overly-light suitcase, feeling more and more pathetic with every step.

"I'm guessing you got kicked out of your house?"

"You heard?"

"Yeah,"

Shikamaru went over to the mini-fridge he had and got him and Neji something to drink. Neji hadn't realized he had been thirsty until he was done with his soda. He supposed getting kicked out of his home because he destroyed his girlfriend's life could do that.

"So, where you gonna stay?" Shikamaru asked. (By doing so, he implied that Neji couldn't stay there.)

"I'm not sure."

The two sat there in silence, drinking soda and playing chess until Neji felt he should leave.

The entire time he was there, he had not looked up once. 


	5. The movie

"Neji got kicked out of his house?"

"Yeah," TenTen nodded, pouring Lee more iced tea.

"Harsh."

Lee was at TenTen's house, currently sipping iced tea. She hadn't offered him any food, since she was already trying to save as much money as she could for her Problem.

Lee had shown up earlier that day. Despite the fact that he said he wanted to tell her something, he asked how TenTen was, and she had broken down and told him everything.

Not just the fact that she was pregnant, because the entire group knew that already.

She told him how she was feeling, all the different thoughts she'd had since she found out, the fact that she was worried about what would happen if anyone were to find out, if her parents would've disowned her if they were still alive…

And her biggest fears of all…

What if Neji left her?

What if he didn't love her anymore?

What if he never had?

"'What if's are what hurt the most in life." Lee had said when she had finished. "Wondering if any of us are in control of anything…it is not a fun thing to think about." Lee looked out the kitchen window without really seeing what was outside, as though he, too, was reflecting on the 'what if's of his life.

Now the two were in TenTen's living room, watching a movie on TV. TenTen was leaning against Lee, and Lee was leaning against an armrest. TenTen had grabbed a relatively thick blanket and wrapped it around herself. It was winter, and it got cold a lot at nights.

The movie, called _Moonstruck_, was about this widow, Loretta (Played by Cher), who get proposed to by some dude, then invites his younger brother and eventually falls in love with the younger brother (Who lost his hand in a bakery accident and blamed his older brother for it) and then has to find a way to tell the older brother she wants to break it off.

Then, the older brother comes back from visiting his dying mother to say his mom didn't die, and can no longer marry Loretta because of it.

So, long story short, Loretta and the younger brother live happily ever after.

Ugh. These types of movies made Lee sick. Who did these people think they were, making it seem like life was that great? Like no matter what, life would work out great? It was never that simple. Never.

He looked down at TenTen, who was still lying against him, watching Loretta and the younger brother on a date at an opera somewhere. It was right after the two left the opera house.

"_Why you want to sell your life short?"_ The younger brother yelled at Loretta. "_You waited for the right man the first time_; _why didn't you wait for the right man again?"_

_"He didn't come." _Loretta said regrettably.

"_I'm here!"_

_"You're late!"_

The movie couple continued arguing, but Lee had stopped listening. He looked down at TenTen, who had fallen asleep. During the start of the movie, TenTen had reached up and undone her buns, and since she had fallen asleep, her soft light brown hair had tumbled down across her face. Lee gently brushed her hair aside.

He loved TenTen with every fiber off his being, which was much more than that bastard Neji could say. And unlike the younger brother of Moonstruck, he wasn't too late.

He'd find a way to show her….Neji didn't deserve someone like TenTen. He didn't care for her. If he even felt like pretending to care, he would've been here, taking care of her.

Just as he was thinking of a romantic dinner he could make for TenTen, she started shifting a little, trying to get comfortable in her sleep. Lee smiled a little as he lifted her head of his shoulders, setting it down gently on the couch armrest. He adjusted her blanket as well, so she wouldn't be cold.

She was an angel in his eyes. She was perfect. She was innocent and beautiful.

He was sure that Neji would never see these things in her like he did. Neji had totally fucked up TenTen's life, and he wasn't even there to take care of her or look after her.

Lee shook his head. He would deal with Neji when he had to.

Lee stood up and walked to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of iced tea and sat at the table.

He decided to spend the night with TenTen. Someone had to, and Neji didn't seem to want to.

Speaking of which…

TenTen was asleep right now, which left him time to think…

Neji had never been his friend. Exactly how they ended up in the same social group was beyond his memory. They tolerated each other for years…until Neji stole TenTen from him.

Neji was competition.

He had to eliminate Neji.

_And he meant eliminate._

* * *

Neji had left Shikamaru's house ages ago. Though he had borrowed a few essentials –toothbrush, pillow, food, and the like- he was still relatively empty-handed.

And he was still outside.

He couldn't impose on any of his friends right now. They were all at home with their parents, (except for Naruto, who had been adopted by Iruka), either sleeping or hang-out with their families.

Plus, if his uncle ever found out he had asked for help so soon, he'd never forgive himself. Stupid pride.

All the same, he would've liked to have a place to stay, even if it was for the night.

It was midnight, and he knew he had to find a place to sleep, and he had to find it NOW.

The relatively small town of Konoha was almost completely dark, and Neji knew it would only be a matter of time before the nightlife came crawling out, if they weren't out already. A chill ran down Neji's spine, sensing the lowlifes of the town all around him, yet seeing no one.

"Hey!"

Neji almost jumped, but he wasn't stupid. He knew better than to show weakness to the nightlife. A hand rested on his shoulder. Neji forced himself to stay calm.

"Hey, dude," A boy, about a few years older than Neji, with glasses and silver hair walk around to look at Neji. "You a runaway?" He asked, indicating Neji's suitcase, a knowing smirk on his face. "Relax, kid. I'll take care of it."

Something about the way he said that set Neji on alert. Like he knew he wasn't lying, but still wasn't saying the whole truth. Neji took a step back. He bumped into someone.

"Where you goin' in such a rush?" A female voice behind him purred. "Don't leave so soon, big boy."

Neji turned around. A girl with dark pink hair and several piercings looked him up and down in a predatory manner. Despite himself, Neji had started to panic. He knew he was strong, and could take out the older guy, if he had to, but he had never beaten up a girl.

"Kabuto," The girl said, not taking her eyes off Neji. "I think he wants to leave us," She smirked, eyeing Neji hungrily. "Now, wouldn't that be rude?"

"I believe it would be, Tayuya, my dear." The boy, Kabuto, stepped back. "Tayuya, would you-uuf!"

Neji had seen his chance. He swung his suitcase and hit Kabuto square in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him as he fell to the ground. Tayuya tried to grab Neji. He dodged her and ran off, all thoughts of pride forgotten as he ran for his life.

And he meant for his life.

When Tayuya had reached for Neji, he'd seen.

She had a dagger.

He hadn't seen the end of them.


	6. Making her Smile

The next morning-Saturday-TenTen slept in. She stretched out slightly and slowly dragged herself to the kitchen, thinking about what she should make for breakfast.

However, Lee had woken up earlier than she had, and had taken it upon himself to make breakfast for the two of them.

"Whoa…" TenTen blinked a few times. "Lee…you made all this?"

"Yes. Do you like it?"

On the kitchen table was a large breakfast. It was composed of all of TenTen's favorite breakfast items: Scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, sausages, the works.

TenTen sat down and grabbed a knife and fork, hungrily eyeing the various foods and trying to decide what to dig into first.

Lee sat down next to her and began to pile some eggs on to her plate. However, just as he was about to pass her the bacon, she put down her utensils.

"You know," She said, a distant look on her face. "It's funny. The last time I had a breakfast this big…" She trailed off, and sad smile on her face.

"Yes?" Lee asked, though he knew where it was going.

"The last time I had a breakfast this big…Neji had made it for me." She leaned back in her chair, looking upward. "I remember…it tasted awful. He couldn't cook for shit, but damn, he tried." She chuckled at the memory. "He had burns and cuts on his hands, but he still fed me…."

Lee resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

_Neji._

The very name disgusted him. He hated it. It sounded like a horrible disease to him. It reminded him of scum, of trash, of-

"Neji always said that one day, he'd get better at cooking, and make me the best breakfast in the world." She laughed. "I remember, that day, he kept saying he was sorry for being such a crappy cook. I wanted to smack him upside the head. Not his fault he can't cook." She laughed again, a little longer this time.

Lee smiled warmly. Even if it was because of a memory of Neji, he liked it when she smiled.

And he loved it when she laughed.

She was divine presence to him; proof that there was a god, a god who cared, somewhere out there, watching over her and seeing that she was happy.

Proof that there was a greater purpose to life, and the everyday events that make up everyone's lives.

Proof that maybe, someday, he'd be the one that got to feed her breakfast.

Making her smile.

"I'm gonna call him, see if he's okay."

Lee had zoned out for a second, so it took him the same amount of time to realize and register what she had said. By then, she was already half-way to her kitchen phone.

"NO!"

TenTen stopped, looking at Lee with a puzzled expression on her face.

"'No' what?"

"Uhh…" Lee thought, quickly trying to find an answer that would justify his outburst.

"Do you not want to finish breakfast?"

TenTen smiled and lowered her hand, which had been reaching for the phone.

"Yeah, you're right." TenTen sat back down and grabbed a fork, digging into her scrambled eggs. "It's early. He's probably…." She trailed off.

She remembered. It was her fault that…Neji wasn't home. That he would never go home again.

She moved her fork around her plate, no longer interested in eating.

Where was Neji now? Was he okay? Was he safe?

Was she worrying too much? He could take care of himself, right? Of course he could. He was probably okay. He'd probably stayed with one of his friends for the night, gotten something to eat, a place to rest.

That, however, did not change the fact that she was still worried. She turned to Lee.

"Do you think he's okay?"

Lee nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"Yeah…" She continued. "I shouldn't worry. I'm sure, where ever he is, he's okay."

* * *

Neji was covered in cuts, scratches, bruises and various other wounds, some of which were still bleeding lightly.

Neji was in a wooded park, leaning against a tree and staying relatively hidden. His hair, which he usually kept in a loose ponytail, was tangled and all over the place. He was tired, and he wanted nothing more than to be able to curl up and sleep right where he was.

After his encounter with Kabuto and Tayuya, Neji had ran away as fast as he could.

And ran into someone much, much worse.

_Neji was still running, though he was already far away from Kabuto and Tayuya. He didn't know that, though, since he hadn't bothered to look back. The adrenaline rush pushed him to keep going forward, never looking back._

_Moments later, when exhaustion settled in, he stopped. Resting his hands on his knees, he looked around to see if he could figure out where he was, exactly._

_"Well, then…who do we have here?"_

_Neji snapped up, recognizing the voice immediately._

_"Hyuga, is it?" The voice asked, mockingly concerned. "Are you lost?"_

_Neji clenched his fist._

_Sasuke Uchiha._

_"Neji Hyuga," Sasuke responded, as though reading his thoughts. "My, My."_

_Sasuke stepped out of the shadows of the wooded park. He looked worse for the wear._

_The Uchihas had once been a prosperous family, wealthy, happy, and above all, powerful. They had had the world at their fingertips, with their family-owned corporation, eTra. They had had everything…_

_Until Itex had come along. Slowly, they had pounded eTra to the ground. Many of the Uchihas had been driven to suicide, murder, crime and fleeing the country. Only Sasuke and Itachi were left in town. They always blamed Neji and Hinata for ruining their lives. The two cousins had dealt with a lot from the brothers, though they hadn't done anything in the recent years._

_Though it looked like Sasuke was about to do something now._

_"Neji…I heard about your…situation." He smirked, moving around Neji in a slow, predatory circle. "Seems just like a Hyuga to ruin another's life. Poor girl, what'd she ever do to you?"_

_"Shut up." Neji was trying to keep his cool. It wasn't working._

_"Have you forgotten your manners, Hyuga? All I was asking about was how you could do that to such a sweet girl?"_

_"Shut up!" Neji was losing his temper, something he almost never did. Perhaps it was the stress of the yesterday, the anger at himself for everything, the fear that TenTen blamed him for it all…._

_Perhaps, it was hearing the Uchiha speak his unspoken fears._

_"She was so happy before you." Sasuke continued. "She had a life, a future. Now what? She has a baby? A sweet little baby to remind her of how much she hates you."_

_"I said, SHUT UP!" Neji swung a fist at Uchiha, landing it square in his face. Sasuke fell backwards._

_After the initial shock, Sasuke stood up._

_"You shouldn't have done that." He took a fighting stance. "I hate you."_

_The two began to fight..._

Neji shook his head, ignoring his growing head ache. There was no point in thinking about it. In the end, Uchiha had fled, leaving Neji to fend for himself.

Now, Neji was tired…and hungry. He hadn't eaten since yesterday at Shikamaru's house.

He sighed. There was no point in holding it off any longer.

He stood up slowly, trying not to hurt himself against the tree.

Picking up the suitcase, he made his way out of the wooded park. He didn't care if anyone saw him. He had no dignity left anymore.

Keeping his head down, Neji walked towards TenTen's house. He had to talk to her.

However, when he arrived, someone else answered the door.

Someone he did not expect to see.


	7. The big story

"Lee?" Neji tried to hide his suitcase behind his back for, what he felt was, the umpteenth time. Though if Sasuke had heard about his homelessness, everyone would've known by now.

"Neji." Lee looked at him with a cold expression. He really didn't see what TenTen saw in him. Though it might have help if Neji didn't look like he'd been through a shredder. "Are you looking for-?"

"Neji!"

Before he knew it, Neji found himself in a very tight hug, courtesy of TenTen. He hugged her back. He didn't say anything.

Because, despite the fact that he was beyond happy that, at the very least, TenTen didn't hate him, he was still in so much pain.

The fight with Uchiha had left him covered with various injuries. It wasn't anything too bad, but he still would've preferred it if TenTen wouldn't hug him so hard. He really was sore and hurt, and the pain was nearly torture. Still, he smiled, knowing that he had a basis to work things out.

"Neji, I was just about to call…you…" She stepped back from Neji, looking him over, an appalled look in her eyes. She placed her hand over her mouth, seeing Neji's different cuts and scratches all over his body. What the-?

No one said anything for what seemed to be an eternity.

"Who…what happened?" She reached up and placed her hand on Neji's cheek. "Who did this?"

"No one."

"You did this to yourself?"

"No!" Neji took her hand from his cheek and held it. "It doesn't matter who. I'll be fine."

"Fine! Look at you!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him inside. "You're a mess, damn it. How can you even walk? You-" She pushed Neji on to her living room couch. "Sit. I'll get you something to eat." She went to her kitchen, leaving Lee and Neji alone in her living room.

"So…Neji started, trying to fix his hair. "What are you doing here?" Neji didn't bother looking at Lee for signs of guilt. He trusted TenTen, and knew that she and Lee were pretty good friends, nearly best friends. Neji had no problem with that. Otherwise, Neji might not have taken Lee's response so lightly.

"I was taking care of TenTen." Lee replied, trying not to laugh as Neji tried to wrestle with his hair. It had leaves and a few pieces of tree bark in it, and it truly was a mess. He knew it was stupid, and that he really mattered to TenTen, but he really didn't care. "Where were you?"

Neji ignored him as he continued to wrestle with his hair. He didn't like the tone Lee had used. It was too accusatory; as though he was out there somewhere when he should have been here with TenTen.

Maybe it was the fact that Neji agreed with that tone. He should have been here with TenTen. He knew that. He knew he had been stupid to try and spend the freaking night in a freaking forest instead of fixing his relationship with his girlfriend like he should have. Did Lee really have to rub it in?

"I'm back." TenTen said, setting a plat of still-warm breakfast on the coffee table in front on Neji. She was oblivious to the fact that Lee was now staring at Neji with laser-sharp intensity, or that the tension between the two boys was slowly growing.

"Neji, quit it," TenTen said, pushing his hands down away from his hair. "I'll fix it." She grabbed a brush from her coffee table and began to drag it through his hair. "Really, Neji, what happened?"

"Nothing," Neji insisted, eating the breakfast TenTen had given him. "TenTen, I'll-."

"Don't gimmie that crap," TenTen said, although she had a shadow of a smile. "Neji, something went on, and I wanna know what."

"TenTen, don't worry about me," Neji said, and paused as he chewed and swallowed a pancake. "It's just-."

"Neji." She looked him right in his eyes. "I have every right to worry about you. Tell me what happened to you. Now."

Neji wanted to shake his head, tell her nothing happened. But she looked at him with a look he'd seen so many times from her.

It was a look of solid determination.

TenTen always had it whenever she wanted something. She had that look on her face when she and Neji went on their very first date.

She had it when she saw Neji hesitate to hold her hand.

She had it when the two walked home, arm in arm.

She had when the two shared their very first kiss under the stars…

Neji sighed. It was no use to go against her when she had that look on her face.

Great.

"Uchiha," Neji said, ignoring the confused look on Lee's face. "It was Uchiha."

That was all she needed to hear.

She fainted.

* * *

"Damn those Hyuga bastards."

"They're the reason we suffered," Itachi agreed, throwing another stick of wood to the fire.

"We're still suffering because of those bastards." 16-year-old Sasuke wrapped the only thin blanket he had tighter around him.

Ever since eTra had gone down, Itachi and Sasuke had lost everything. Their home, their family, their possessions, everything.

Now they lived in the wooded park, living day to day.

They hated their humiliation. They hated diving through dumpsters for food and clothes. They hated having to live outdoors. They hated they fact that they had to use the school showers every day. They hated the fact that everything was once theirs, and now they were lucky to eat a half-full meal once a month.

It was all the Hyuga bastard's fault.

"I know, little brother," Itachi said, ruffling his sibling's hair. If nothing else, the downfall of their family's company had brought the two brothers closer than before.

"It's not fair!" Sasuke yelled. "Those smarmy bastards."

"I know," Itachi said again. "I wish mom was here."

"Oh, thanks for reminding me!" Sasuke snapped. Sasuke, having been younger when their parents killed themselves, he'd been the most affected. Even now, when he saw other children with their parents, his blood boiled and it took all his self control to not burst into tears.

Itachi didn't say anything. He knew Sasuke didn't mean it. He didn't say anything, either. They'd been through all this together, but only Itachi would admit that Sasuke had gotten the worst deal out of all of this. He'd been younger when it happened. Itachi could still remember when Sasuke was so young and happy. He would smile at the simpliest things; a butterfly, a full-bloom flower. Now he was so full of hatred for everything. All he wanted now was revenge on the Hyuga family. Revenge for everything he had lost.

The two brothers sat in silence as the night cold closed in on them. The fire was dying, despite Itachi's attempts to keep it going. Eventually, the fire died down to a few glowing embers.

A rustling noise alerted the two brothers. They both went on their guard.

"Snake?" Sasuke asked.

"Mouse," A voice replied from the shadows. The two boys relaxed their guard, recognizing the voice. The young, blond female emerged from the shadows and sat down across from Itachi and Sasuke.

"I brought you guys some stuff," She said, handing Itachi a large suitcase, which had some clothes, food, and two new blankets. Itachi passed one to his younger brother, wrapper the other around himself.

"How are you guys?" She asked, looking at Sasuke as dozed off. "How's-?"

"He's doing fine," Itachi replied. "Did you hear about the Hyuga?"

"Hinata? Yeah, she's goin' out with that Dog boy Kiba-."

"No. The other one."

"What about him?" She asked, getting out a notepad and pen from her jeans pocket.

"You didn't hear? Nearly every one did."

"What? What?" She asked eagerly in her gossip gathering voice. Everyone knew it. She used it whenever she felt a juicy story in the air. "Tell me everything you know."

A half-hour later, the girl had been informed of everything, from Neji's disgraceful decent to homeless to Sasuke's fight with the Hyuga prodigy.

"This is great!" She whisper-yelled, trying not to wake Sasuke. "Everyone at school will eat this up!"

"I'm glad I could help," Itachi smirked. Really, this girl was too much sometimes. But in a good way.

"Thanks. I gotta go now, it's almost midnight. I can't wait to tell everyone!" She stood up, gave Itachi a quick hug, and left.

Ino Yamanaka had just gotten her hands on the biggest story of her life.


	8. The big story pt2

**I'm so sorry, I haven't updated for a while, and what I put up is way too short. The next chapter is where the story picks up. Again, I'm sorry for taking so long.**Back at TenTen's home, the two boys were in the middle of an undeclared staring contest.

* * *

Neji knew what this was about. Lee, much like him, was in love with TenTen. Neji, unlike Lee, was going out with TenTen. For Lee, Neji was the only thing that stood in his way. To Lee, Neji was the only obstacle.

Didn't take a genius to figure out, really.

However, even with something as small as this, he couldn't afford to lose. TenTen had the right to make her own decisions, and she was keeping the baby. The baby was his responsibility. It was one hundred percent his fault and he was going to do everything he could to…to…make it better, he supposed. Lee didn't understand.

Lee had an almost blinding love for TenTen. It was blinding enough that Lee didn't understand how awkward it would've been. Dating TenTen was…well, it would really be up to her, but dating seemed more or less out of the question. Besides, Neji had a responsibility now, as he had noted. Even if TenTen were to date someone else, they'd have to keep in mind that she was pregnant, and that Neji was the father. Lee wouldn't be able to take it once the baby was born. Lee was…

Neji sighed inwardly. Lee was much better for TenTen than he was. Neji knew that. Lee certainly wouldn't've gotten her into the same Problem that he had. For another:

1)Lee wasn't as cold as Neji was. It took Neji forever to open up to people. Lee could be friends with half of the state of Rhode Island in one day.

2) Lee wasn't as stupid as Neji. Lee wouldn't've gotten TenTen…oh, wait. He said that already.

3) Lee hadn't been kicked out of his house.

4) Lee didn't come from an important family. If they were to date, they wouldn't have pressure constantly put on them.

Neji knew there were other reasons, but listing them made him feel depressed. He sighed inwardly again. When would TenTen come to the same realization he had? That Lee was the better candidate? The better man?

TenTen walked in, a glass of Iced tea in her hands. Lee blinked graciously and looked up at TenTen, smiling and beaming at her.

"Hello, TenTen!" He greeted waving. As though he hadn't seen her 10 minutes ago. (She'd made herself some Iced tea from scratch.)

"Hey, Lee." TenTen smiled a sad little grimace and sat down next to Neji. "Umm… Lee?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind going upstairs and getting me my CD player? It's in my room, on the desk."

"Of coure!" Lee smirked, happy that he got to do TenTen a favor. He bounded up the stairs two at a time, and was soon out of ear shot.

TenTen sighed and sat down next to Neji.

"Neji…We need to talk."

* * *

Ino Yamanaka was at home, sitting in front of her computer. She was typing furiously, sending each of her cronies and contacts a gossip-filled e-mail. In the small town of Konoha, something like this was a huge scandal. This was the story that would make her!

Cheerfully, she began to type, doing as she always did, working her way up. First with minor jokes.

_Hey everyone! I've got a good amount of scandals and stories for you!_

_First: Did you hear about Hinata and the dogboy? Hinata the Heiress and dogboy were at some movie or other, and then, when he tried to kiss her, he missed! How they ended up together is a mystery._

_Second: Lee. He's a disgrace all to himself. After all, his obvious love of TenTen is embarrassing! But, last week, he was actually holding the door open for her, while she was on a date with Neji! How pathetic is that? You be the judge._

She paused. With the few warm-up stories out of the way, she knew it was time to reveal the biggest scandal in all of Konoha!This had to be done right.

_Guys. You will not believe what I've heard. This just might be the biggest story you've ever heard! Yes, it's that big._

_Now, as you all know. I have one, and only one source. But, that source has been very reliable. My source has brought you plenty of other juicy stories, all of them proven true and correct, down to the last detail. Now, my source has provided me with this. This story is unbelievable, not only for what it is, but for who it happened to. Are you ready?_

_I'm sure you all know Neji Hyuga. Teen Prodigy. One of the top ten hottest guys in school. And, TenTen, his girlfriend. TenTen, athletic star. Track runner. Volleyball champ, all that._

_Well, some of you may have noted that TenTen's gained a little weight recently. Well, it's not because she quit all her sports team. No, it's much bigger than that._

_I have no other way to say this:_

_TenTen's pregnant._

"Send."


End file.
